'Agricultural specialisterne': rural employment revolution for those with Autism

[Visionary7903]

Denmark, the country where the Specialisterne concept was founded, was also the first country in the world to offer an IT education programme specifically aimed at young people with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS). During the three-year course programme offered at several institutions all over Denmark the student will specialise within one of four areas: techniques, software construction, visualisation or quality assurance. The AspIT programme includes an internship component…

…All students complete an internship of at least 24 weeks in one or more companies that wish to employ them after the course. The internship gives the student more specialized skills within his or her focused talent. …Work adjustment training focuses on individual learning and the student’s focused talent.
…The graduates agree that the internships have been instructive. Some of them found it was a huge challenge - in fact some had to shift to another company, e.g. because the office environment was too overwhelming for them. Others had very positive experiences and actually got a job in “their” company after the internship…

Apart from the programme’s concern with each individual’s focused talent, a great feature for young people with Asperger’s Syndrome is AspIT’s special focus on improving social skills; these are, of course, so important to workplaces (and such a challenge for those on the Autism Spectrum)…

…Teaching is performed in small groups with around five students in each group.
…During the second and third semesters we dedicate 80 lessons to the subject called “social comprehension.”
The students will develop their social, personal and behavioural competencies by means of individual instruction, support and guidance…

…“Three years ago many of the students had problems socialising with other people, but now they agree to do interviews on television or radio,” says [Vejle Business College Project Manager] Ole Bay Jensen.
…they are now considering whether disciplines other than IT could match the characteristic personality features of autistic people.

Finance, accounting and logistics are on the list and, similarly, within languages there could be translation jobs and proofreading that people with AS could thrive with and be good at…

According to the following link evaluating AspIT, the programme looks to be quite successful and it might be an idea to have such vocational training courses spread to other countries: AspIT – IT-uddannelse som stu og LAB i 8 byer i Danmark

(sources: AspIT – IT-uddannelse som stu og LAB i 8 byer i Danmark; AspIT – IT-uddannelse som stu og LAB i 8 byer i Danmark; IT students with autism ready for job - Politiken.dk)